Lots of Bears to blame, but it starts with Cutler

There is blame to go all around, but familiar storyline remains: Cutler can't beat Packers.

Relax.

It's the word that came out of Aaron Rodgers' mouth multiple times last week, as he urged legions of Packers fans to chill out after the uproar over the team's third 1-2 start in as many seasons.

If only Jay Cutler could say the same thing and there would be reason for Bears fans to buy in after the Packers rolled to a 38-17 victory Sunday at Soldier Field.

Cutler once again failed to get it done in the NFL's longest-running rivalry Sunday. He was hardly alone in that regard.

Coach Marc Trestman clearly said — twice — that Brandon Marshall was responsible for Cutler's second interception when he cowboyed what was supposed to be an 18-yard hook and ran a go route, setting up Sam Shields for an easy pick with the Bears trying to tally from two touchdowns down. That's a Pro Bowl player being called out by a coach who rarely assigns blame publicly. The defense — with no pass rush and big holes in coverage — was horrendous. The only possession the Packers didn't score on was the one that ended with Willie Young blocking Mason Crosby's 38-yard field-goal attempt.

Chicago Bears' Matt Forte breaks the NFL record for most catches by a running back in a season.

Chicago Bears' Matt Forte breaks the NFL record for most catches by a running back in a season.

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The Bears' loss to the Lions at Soldier Field is being overstated, says Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh as he recaps Jimmy Clausen starting his first game in four seasons.

The Bears' loss to the Lions at Soldier Field is being overstated, says Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh as he recaps Jimmy Clausen starting his first game in four seasons.

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Jimmy Clausen and Bears fall to Lions.

Jimmy Clausen and Bears fall to Lions.

The loss makes the Bears 2-2 at the end of the first quarter of the schedule and leaves them winless in two home games. That's not as big an issue as the failure to capitalize against a Packers team that came in discombobulated offensively. The Packers had not played well, and when an opponent is down and on the road, you have to strike.

"It's early in the season," Cutler said. "A lot of good things happened. We have a lot of football left to play. We get some guys back healthy again, hopefully, keep moving along."

Unfortunately, the Bears' 235 rushing yards, their most since a Sept. 25, 1988, meeting with the Packers, goes unnoticed. A terrific start — the offense marched 80 yards on 15 plays and chewed up 8 minutes, 30 seconds as Cutler hit Marshall with a 6-yard touchdown pass — was ruined. The Bears accomplished their goal of controlling the ball, holding it for nearly 13 minutes more. Cutler was heady, turning possible disasters into positive plays by scooping up botched snaps. It didn't matter.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told impatient Green Bay fans, who seemed stressed out over the team dropping two of its first three games, to relax.

Rodgers followed his own suggestion Sunday while methodically dismantling the Bears 38-17 by completing 22 of 28 passes for 302 yards and four...

The narrative that is going to be rehashed until they meet again in six weeks is quarterback play and the idea that Cutler cannot beat the Packers. It certainly has been too long. Cutler is 1-9 against the Packers and has lost seven straight in the series. Five of those seven have come at Soldier Field. Against the Packers, he has 12 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions.

Yes, there is plenty of blame to spread around, and we're not even touching defensive issues here. But the Bears have a superior cast of offensive weapons and they did not come close. On the other side, Rodgers nearly had as many touchdown passes (four) as he did incompletions (six).

Cutler and Trestman didn't seem bothered by the first interception by Clay Matthews when he snatched a ball out of the air after Tramon Williams jumped a slant route by Josh Morgan and beat the receiver to the spot.

"(Matthews) made a good play," Cutler said. "We had the look that we wanted for that route. He stepped right into it. The ball was kind of in slow motion for 10 yards and landed right in Clay's hands. It happens."

Trestman said the Bears had called a run on the play but got the coverage they wanted to convert the play to a pass. It was costly because Matthews returned the pick 40 yards and the Packers' lead quickly went from one touchdown to 31-17.

Settling for a field goal early in the second quarter after getting within about a foot of the goal line was another failure. Cutler missed Alshon Jeffery high on third down in the back of the end zone, but questionable play-calling — lining up in shotgun on first-and-goal from the 1 — and a false start by Kyle Long were damaging.

Then tight end Martellus Bennett didn't run his route into the end zone and Cutler's pass to him as the second quarter expired resulted in a tackle by Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix just short of the goal line. They were mistakes that added up.

It's difficult to juxtapose the effort in prime time two weeks ago against the 49ers, another team the Bears caught at the right time, against this lousy showing. Until the Bears can beat the Packers, and do so more than every once in a while, it's hard to consider them worthy of competition at the upper echelon in the conference.

The Packers are within three games of evening the NFL's longest-running rivalry and that's something considering the Bears led 80-57-6 after the 1991 season. With Rodgers and Brett Favre, the Packers are 33-13 against the Bears and now the edge in the series is 93-90-6.